IMPACT OF THE PANDEMIC COVID-19 TO THE INDONESIA SEAS

This paper presents the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Indonesian seas from April to October 2020. Data were mainly obtained through literature studies focusing on coastal and ecosystem services, noise observation in the ocean, and in-situ data for atmospheric conditions. The results of this study found that the pandemic has given the oceans and ecosystems time to recover from anthropogenic stresses even though the tourism and fisheries sectors have experienced strong economic shocks. A decrease in the amount of pollution in several major cities in Indonesia was also found during the pandemic period.

Family Self-Sufficiency Program Outcomes for Participants Enrolling During and After the Great Recession

Utilizing administrative data from the Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program operated by the Denver Housing Authority, four program outcomes, (a) savings and escrow growth, (b) credit and debt reduction, (c) employment and earnings, and (d) positive exits from subsidized housing, are examined to assess if any differences exist between participants ( n = 424) who enrolled during or after the Great Recession. Propensity score matching with replacement was employed to match FSS enrollees. Compared to post-Great Recession enrollees, results suggest that enrollees entering the program during the Great Recession were more likely to reduce their monthly contractual debt and derogatory debt, increase monthly earned income, and remain in the FSS Program longer. Findings suggest that attaining participant financial capability goals is possible during severe economic shocks and may provide vulnerable families with additional capacity to weather such shocks.

The effect of gender-specific labor market conditions on children’s weight

Background Macroeconomic conditions are widely known to influence health outcomes through direct behavioral change or indirect mental effects of individuals. However, they have not received much attention in relation to childhood obesity. Methods Using gender-specific predicted employment growth rates as an index for labor market conditions, we analyze how economic shocks affect children’s weight status in Arkansas. To understand the underlying mechanisms behind these results, we use data on individual time use to examine how economic shocks are related to activities related to children’s weight. Results Improvement in the female labor market is associated with an increase in body mass index (BMI) and the probability that a child is overweight or obese, while an improvement in the male labor market has no significant effects on children’s weight. This impact is particularly evident among female children, older children, and African-American children. We also find a negative effect of improvements in the female labor market on time spent on preparation for foods at home. Conclusions These results suggest that a decrease in time spent preparing home-cooked foods might be a plausible explanation for the pro-cyclical relationship between children’s weight and improvement in the labor market conditions. Thus, the policy implications of our paper should be aimed at mitigating the adverse effects of women’s labor participation.

The Devastating Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Older Black and Latinx Adults: Implications for Health and Well-Being

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic recession have wreaked havoc on the United States’ economy and brought to the forefront stark racial and ethnic inequalities in our society. Older Black and Latinx adults are particularly hard hit by the pandemic as they have relatively lower levels of income and wealth to protect against crises. This study used data from the 2020 COVID-19 module of the Health and Retirement Study, to highlight how the COVID-19 pandemic has economically impacted older Black, U.S.-born Latinx and foreign-born Latinx adults. Results show the pandemic has economically devastated older Black and Latinx adults across a host of economic factors, with foreign-born Latinx experiencing greater economic hardships relative to other groups. Our findings document stark inequalities that are being exacerbated by the pandemic. We discuss the implications of the economic shocks of the pandemic for the health and well-being of older Black and Latinx adults.

Desperate House Sellers: Distress Among Developers

Using granular data on home builder housing developments from the 2006-09 housing crisis, I show that builders spread house price shocks across geographically distinct projects via their internal capital markets. Builders who experience losses in one area subsequently sell homes in unaffected areas at a discount to raise cash quickly. Financially constrained firms are more likely to cut prices of homes in healthy areas in response to losses in unhealthy ones. Firms also smooth shocks across projects only during the crisis and not during the boom. These results together suggest firm internal capital markets spread negative economic shocks across space.

EARLY WARNING SYSTEM OF EXTERNAL SUSTAINABILITY OF AN ECONOMY: CASE OF UKRAINE

The paper deals with the early warning system that allows monitoring the external sustainability of an economy due to external economic shocks. For this purpose, the analysis of the external sustainability indicators system of an economy (example of Ukraine) was implemented. It consisted of statistical analysis of the system of indicators of external sustainability of an economy, probabilistic assessment of their dynamics due to external economic shocks. The analysis of external sustainability indicators includes verifying their volatility, stability and variability relative to GDP. It means calculation of standard deviation for testing the volatility, autocorrelation to check the stability of the indicator and correlation between its value and GDP growth rate to measure the variability relative to the economy’s performance. The calculations of threshold percentiles for indicators of external sustainability of Ukraine’s economy, noise-signal ratios and probabilities of the occurrence of unsustainable external perturbationsare based on signal approach. The analysis of indicators of external sustainability of Ukraine’s economy shows that most indicators are volatile relative to their average values.It is shown that most indicators of the external sustainability of Ukraine’s economy are acyclic as they are weakly correlated with the growth rate of GDP, although their turning points coincide in many cases. Procyclical indicators are the ratio of reserve assets to «broad money», the ratio of net foreign assets to GDP, the average interest rate on external government liabilities, countercyclical indicators are the ratio of reserve assets to short-term external debt, the share of external public debt denominated in foreign currency to the total amount of external government obligations (except for SDR). Keywords: external sustainability, early warning system of external sustainability, external economic shocks, commodity prices, debt sustainability, social and market efficiency. JEL Classification F30, F40, F62 Formulas: 0; fig.: 1;tabl.: 0; bibl.: 24.